


Powerful

by justanotherclown



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Family, Firehouse 118 Family (9-1-1), Getting Together, Hurt Evan "Buck" Buckley, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, S03E17 Coda, Team as Family, Therapy, Worried Eddie Diaz
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24132307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanotherclown/pseuds/justanotherclown
Summary: What we didn't get the chance to see during S03 E17,ORHow the 118 spent the day after Athena's assault and ended up eating Teppanyaki (just before the train derailment).Hen invites Karen, Chimney invites Maddie, and of course Buck invites Eddie...
Relationships: Athena Grant/Bobby Nash, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Bobby Nash, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Henrietta "Hen" Wilson/Karen Wilson, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Comments: 6
Kudos: 72





	Powerful

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy it! This is my first attempt at writing and English is not my first language, so please let me know if you have any suggestion in the comments. 
> 
> (If abuse, therapy or smoking could trigger you, please be aware of their mention in this fic before reading.)
> 
> I mentionned the songs that I had in mind when I was writing each scene next to the time. So if anyone is interested in listening while reading, feel free to do so. I'll probably add links in the comments later to make it easier.

8am: (You can Shake the Mountains – Lifehouse) 

Eddie woke up on an hospital chair, Buck on the chair next to him, his head rested on his shoulder. The scene made Eddie smile. Buck being taller than him, he was probably killing his neck sleeping like that. They didn’t get much sleep anyway, after what happened to Athena last night. 

Buck, like all the team, had been strong for Bobby. He had been strong during the drive to the hospital, when he had saw Athena in the hospital bed, when he had to reassure Maddie on the phone. But the minute he had sat in the corridor bench next to Eddie, he had started crying. Eddie had said nothing, he was never really good with words, especially when he was supposed to deal with emotions. So instead he had pressed his body against Buck, like he often does in the truck after a bad call.

He had never saw Buck cry like that before. Sure, he had saw him cry a couple of time, after all they had been through together. But somehow Eddie had never seen him look so fragile, so vulnerable. He had had a rough week, Eddie had told himself, thinking about how Buck had been affected by Red’s death. 

Time had passed, the hospital corridor had emptied itself. The two men were so still on the bench that, after a while, the motion detector lighting had stayed off. Buck had cried on Eddie’s shoulder in silence until he had fallen asleep. Eddie had fallen asleep right after him. 

The morning light had now filled the corridor, and the fact that Buck was moving his head suddenly pulled Eddie from his thoughts. 

“Stop, stop hitting her.” Bucks mumbled.

Eddie winced, even in his sleep, Buck was tortured by what happened. The nightmares reminded him of the tsunami and how he felt powerless at the time, unable to help his son and his best friend the way he had wanted to. 

“Buck, hey, wake up.” he whispered. 

“Leave her alone dad, please.”

Eddie frowned, what did he just said? Eddie eyes were now fully opened. 

“Buck, hey, hey, it’s me, you’re okay.” he said, shaking Buck’s shoulder gently. 

The younger man finally opened his eyes. They were full of worries. He clenched his hand firmly around Eddie’s arm, making sure he was really there. 

“You’re okay” Eddie repeated like a soothing mantra, almost like he was trying to convince himself.

After a couple of minutes, when Buck’s hand finally let go of his arm, Eddie helped him stand up. 

“Come on, let’s get out of here”.

9am: (I try – Macy Gray) 

“Hey Karen, the babysitter is here. You ready?”

“Yeah, I’m not really feeling too well, so it’s probably not a good idea for me to go to the hospital.” “Just give Athena my love.” Karen lied after finding a motel note in her wife’s wallet. 

“Are you sure?” Hen asked worriedly.

“Yeah, positive.”

After kissing Nia and Denny, Hen left the house. Karen shoved the note in her purse and exited the bedroom. 

“Hm Jessie, can you watch the kids until Hen comes back? I have a couple of errands to do that I had forgotten about, so I’m gonna go now. She will pay you for the extra time when she’s back.”

The babysitter nodded and before she could even reply, Karen was out of the house. 

“Thank you Jessie, bye kids, be kind!”

10am: (From the morning - Nick Drake)

Eddie parked in Abuela’s driveway. Buck was on the passenger seat, looking absently at the window. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Eddie asked softly, patting Buck’s knee to get his attention.  
Buck gave him a small smile but said nothing. 

“You now I’m there, if you want to talk about it.” Eddie offered. He wasn’t even sure what he meant by “it”, but he was sure about being there and wanting to help his best friend. 

“I know.”, “Thank you, Eds.” he whispered, placing is own hand on top of Eddie’s still on his knee.  
Eddie felt his heart racing dangerously and didn’t really know what to do about it. He squeezed Buck’s knee and broke the contact. 

“Okay, let’s get Christopher.” 

11am: (Judy Collins - Daddy You've Been on My Mind)

“So the whole time, you had to listen without being able to do anything?” Frank asked.

“Well yes, but that’s my job, that’s what I do every day” Maddie answered, giving her therapist a small smile. 

“But you know Sergeant Grant personally, it’s not like any other call, right?”

“Sure… When I heard that gunshot and I thought Athena was… well I panicked. It brought back some memories. And you’re right, I haven’t reacted the way I would have with a stranger.” She confessed, “I thought about Bobby, about Buck, about Athena’s kids… I felt so…”.

“Powerless?” Frank offered.

“Yes.” 

“Those memories you mentioned, where they about Doug?” 

“Hm, some of them yes, but mostly, I thought about my parents” Maddie answered with an unsure voice.

“Did you feel powerless as a kid?” 

Maddie took a moment to think. She never told anyone about this, not even Chimney. Her anxiety was rising as she tried to remember her childhood. She started picking at her nails then focused on a stain on the wall behind Frank. 

“My father…” she started, before taking a deep breath, “he was pretty tough. He used to yell a lot, broke things around the house when he was mad. Well, it seems like he was always mad. And my mother, well he was pretty mad at her…” Maddie started sobbing.

“Did he ever hurt her in front of you?” Frank questioned softly, handing Maddie a tissue. 

“Yes, but mostly he was hurting her at night, when he came back from work, and I would hear it from my room” Maddie’s voice broke, her sobbing intensified.

“We can stop talking about it, if you want to.” 

“No, it’s okay, I know I should have talk about it a long time ago, but I kinda felt stupid, you know, watching my father beating my mother all my childhood and then marrying an abusive man.” 

“It’s not stupid at all Maddie, it may seem like it but it’s not. A lot of people who have been through abuse when they were children find themselves in abusive relationships when they became adults. Some even become abusive themselves. Sometimes the abuse can be interpreted as feelings of love and passion. And sometimes, people who have been abused think it’s the only way relationships work.” 

“I guess it makes sense now that I hear it from you” Maddie said, wiping a couple of tears. 

12am: (Mother’s daughter – Miley Cyrus)

“Aw baby you look gorgeous.” Athena said when her daughter’s face appeared on her phone screen.

“Mom, I didn’t even get my hair and makeup done yet.” May laughed.

“So what, I can’t tell my baby she is gorgeous anytime?” 

“See, I told you, you don’t need any makeup!” Michael snorted in the back. 

“Well, I could use some makeup on those ugly bruises, I feel like Mike Tyson right now.” Athena replied. 

“Don’t say that mom, you look like a warrior. That’s not ugly.” May said in a much more serious tone.

“Where is Harry? I’m sure he would agree I look like Mike Tyson.” her mother tried to lighten the mood. 

“We just dropped him at the Andersons, dad is driving me to the salon” May explained, “I see someone brought you some balloons, looks nice.”

“Oh yeah, Hen brought them when she visited this morning, it was good to have company.” her mother said while showing her the decorations in the hospital room. 

“Speaking of company, where’s Bobby?” May asked.

“He went home to shower and eat some actual food, and he better brought some with him when he’s back.” Athena stated with her usual warning tone.

May smiled, relieved to see that her mom was already joking like usual. 

“Okay, we’re at the salon mom, I’ll call you back later, I love you!” 

“I love you too baby, have fun!” Athena replied before she hung up. 

Michael kissed his daughter on the cheek, before leaving her with her two best friends in front of the beauty salon. 

“Alright, I’ll pick you up at 3, I think I’m gonna go check on Bobby.”

He waved at the girls and drove away. 

1pm: (The wind – Cat Stevens)

“Oh come on, it’s on me this time.” Imelda told Hen before waving to the waitress that had been serving them their lunch. 

“Thank you.” she simply replied, playing with the corner of her napkin. 

“When you have a doctor salary you can invite me again.” the woman laughed.

“Thank you, for everything, it means a lot.” Hen said more seriously.

“I’m glad we met Hen, I think you will make an excellent doctor!” Imelda continued while getting her credit card out of her purse. 

“Well thank you for that too, I’m not sure everyone will agree.” Hen was still insecure about the whole thing. 

As the other woman went to the counter to pay the note, Hen took her phone out of her pocket debating if she should call Karen and tell her about this or not. Instead she decided to send a text to make sure her wife was feeling better than when she left her this morning. She was about to shove her phone back in her pocket when it started ringing. Maddie name appeared on the screen. 

“Maddie, everything’s okay?” she asked worriedly. 

“Hm, I think you should come to our apartment and see by yourself…” 

"Did something happen with Chimney?” Hen asked confused, she was expecting the worst because Maddie rarely called her. 

“Well, I don’t know what happened, I just got back, but Karen is here and… Well, she isn’t at her best form, I thought it was better to call you” Maddie continued, leaving Hen even more confused with her explanation. 

What was Karen doing there? Especially when she was sick? And where were the kids?  
“Uh, okay, I’ll be there soon” Hen told Maddie before hanging up. 

“Uh Imelda, I’m so sorry, I have to go, my wife is sick” she said while putting her jacket on and picking her backpack “I’ll call you, bye!” and just like that she was off. 

2pm: (Time of no reply - Nick Drake)

Eddie was in the kitchen trying his best not to burn the popcorn. He noticed Buck’s phone buzzing on the counter. He glanced at the phone without realising it wasn’t his. It was Maddie texting to make sure her brother was okay. Eddie wanted to ask her what he could do to help but he wished Buck would just talk to him. The microwave bell ringed and pulled him out of his thoughts. He threw the popcorn in a bowl and went back to the living room. 

“Bucky you should do like Dory!” said Christopher pointing at the TV screen with excitement. 

“What do you mean?” Buck asked very seriously, which made Eddie chuckle. 

“Dory lives just next to Nemo and his dad, so they can play together all the time” Christopher explained very seriously too. 

Eddie cleared his throat and distracted Chris with the popcorn in order to save Buck from this conversation. Maybe he was trying to save himself from this conversation. 

“I’m sorry, who are you little man? I have trouble remembering” Buck said to Christopher with his eyebrow raised which made the boy giggle. Eddie’s eyes met Buck’s and he gave him a fond smile. 

3pm: (Superwoman – Alicia Keys) 

“I’m sorry Karen, I… I should have told you.” Hen started.

Karen was still a little tipsy, but her wife revelations seemed to have a sobering effect on her. She grabbed her wife’s hand. 

“No, no, I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have doubted you, and I’m sorry you felt like I wouldn’t support you into this.” 

“Come here.” Hen brought her wife in a tight hug. After a second, Karen broke the embrace and went to their closet, leaving Hen standing in surprise.

“Honey, where is your super suit?” Karen joked, still going through their closet. 

“I’m never letting you drink again.” Hen winced at her wife’s poor imitation.

“Found it!” Karen exclaimed brandishing Hen’s white coat. She placed it on her wife’s shoulders and gave her a kiss. “My doctor Wilson.” she said proudly. 

“You know, the babysitter is still here, watching our kids, and you’re very sexy as a doctor.” Karen teased.

“Hm, hm, and you’re not bad at playing sick.” Hen replied before kissing her again, “Actually, I was thinking, we could rest until you sober up and then I could take you to that Teppanyaki restaurant.”.

“Food is going to ruin us.” Karen sighed with a playful smile on her face.

4pm: (You and me – The Wannadies)

“I think you should answer her.” Maddie said softly, “She’s still your best friend.” she laid an encouraging hand on her boyfriend’s shoulder. 

Chimney fixed the screen for a second pretending he could not answer before handing his phone to Maddie. She feigned indignation, answered the call, and gave him back his phone.

“Hey Chim.” Hen said with a weak voice.

“Hey Judas.” Chimney replied, not in his usual joking tone. 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have lied to you… and I shouldn’t have used you to lie to Karen…” 

“How am I supposed to do this without you, Hen?” he questioned with a bitter laugh.  
“God, I can’t believe you lied about that, you know I love Teppanyaki” the man said after they remained silent for a time. 

Hen laughed. “About that… how about I make it up to you and take you to this restaurant tonight?” she offered with a glimmer of hope in her voice. 

“Is Karen invited?” Chimney simply asked.

“Only way she’ll believe I’m really with you” Hen answered with a dry laugh.

“Alright… I guess I’ll come with Maddie then.”

“Hey Chim, I’m really sorry…” Hen told him again. 

“Hm hm” Chimney hummed reluctantly before hanging up. 

Maddie gave him a proud smile and kissed his cheek. 

5pm: (Place to be – Nick Drake)

Eddie finished folding some laundry on the coffee table, he could hear Chris and Buck’s laugher coming from his son’s room. He wished the sound never faded. The thought of a quiet house made him uncomfortable. He sighed and let himself fall deeper in the couch. 

“Hey, what’s the matter?” Buck asked gently, before sitting next to Eddie on his couch.  
Eddie lifted his head and met the man’s blue eyes. For a second, he was lost in his eyes. He blinked a few times to stop himself from starring. 

“I could ask you the same question.” Eddie managed to mumble, now fixing the floor. 

Buck chuckled softly, “I..” he started but his throat stopped him, “I can’t talk about it, I… I wish I could, but…” the young man swallowed a sob, “It’s too hard, Eddie.”.

Eddie saw the fear in Buck’s eyes and suddenly felt really bad for pushing it. 

“I’m sorry Buck, I shouldn’t have asked, I…”, “What can I do for you?” he offered, unsure it was what his best friend needed to ear.

Buck simply rested his head against Eddie’s shoulder like he did the night before at the hospital. “I could use a drink, I guess. But I don’t really want to move.’

Eddie smiled against Buck’s hair. “Me neither, but I have to drop Christopher at his friend house, they’re having a sleepover…”. 

Buck lifted his head and glanced at the other man, “Oh, it makes sense now.” he mumbled to himself.

“What makes sense?” Eddie asked confused. 

“Leaving Chris, that’s what’s been bothering you, right?” Buck guessed, meeting Eddie’s eyes again.

“Hm…”

Maybe he was right, Eddie had not even thought about it actually. He was worried about Chris and Buck, sure, like always, but he didn’t realise it was that noticeable. Buck was so much better than him at guessing what was on people’s mind. It made him sad to be so clueless about what was tormenting his best friend. 

“I guess, yeah.” 

“Okay, enough whining, we drop Chris and then we’re going for a drink” Buck declared bumping Eddie’s shoulder to get him to move.

Eddie nodded and headed to Christopher’s room to see if he was ready to go. Buck pushed himself back in the couch and sighed, his neck had been killing him all day. Sleeping in an hospital chair wasn’t the best idea after all, although he didn’t regret spending the night against Eddie. Buck was trying to massage his own neck when his phone rang.

“Hm, yeah?” he said without looking who called. 

“Did I wake you up?” Maddie asked worriedly.

“Uh no, you didn’t, I’m just… exhausted,” Buck confessed to his sister, “the week’s been long.”. 

“I know… What happened yesterday… it reminded me of… you know, the past.” 

“Yeah me too.” he told her knowingly. 

“Chim and I are going to Shogun tonight,” his sister explained, “please come with us, you shouldn’t be alone right now.”

“I, I wasn’t alone, I’m at Eddie’s…” Buck stuttered, he could hear his sister grinning through the phone, “We were going to get some drinks later but I guess we could use a proper meal.”

“Great! I’ll see you there!” Maddie cheered.

“Love you Mads”

“Love you Evan” Maddie replied before hanging up. 

“So, the plan is to get Hen to spend all her money on that restaurant bill so she can’t afford medical school?” Chimney asked. Maddie laughed and winked at him in answer.

6pm: (Bleed – The Negro Problem)

Michael entered the hospital room and found Athena sleeping and Bobby watching over her. He smiled at the scene, thankful that she and their children had someone like Bobby to take care of them when he was not around. 

“May seemed happy.” Bobby said quietly with a satisfied look on his face.

“She was,” Michael confirmed, “and she was really touched that you got her a corsage.”

Bobby smile fondly. He really loved those kids like his own, and Michael knew it. 

“Thank you for coming earlier,” Bobby told the other man, “turned out destroying that fireplace was exactly what I needed.” 

“Wow, Bobby, don’t mention it in front of her, even asleep she could kill us both.” Michael laughed, “I’m glad it helped.”

Bobby’s phone buzzed. 

“Well speaking of chimney.” Bobby joked when he saw the text.

“How is he doing?” the other man questioned politely.

“He is fine, he invited me to go to the restaurant with the team but I don’t think I’m-“

“Oh, you’re going” Michael interrupted him, “I’m staying with her, I’ll text you if she wakes up” 

Bobby opened his mouth to reply but said nothing.

“Go, Bobby,” the other man insisted, “you could use some distraction and some better food.” He pointed at the hospital tray on the side table that had remained untouched.

“I guess I could go for a drink and come back after.” Bobby finally agreed. 

7pm: (The mountain goats – Up the wolves)

“To Athena!” Hen toasted, glancing at Bobby. 

“To Athena!” the table chorused. 

Buck leg started shaking anxiously under the table at the mention of Athena’s name. Eddie noticed and pressed his knee against Buck’s. The contact made him stop shaking and he seemed to relax a bit after that. 

“To Hen!” Chimney followed, looking at his best friend with a proud smile on his face.

“To Hen!” everyone replied, lifting their glasses in the air. 

“So, is anyone going to tell us what we’re celebrating here, or we’re supposed to guess?” Buck asked exchanging a confused look with Eddie. 

“Oh, you didn’t hear,” Chimney frowned, “Hen is leaving us.”.

“Chim…” Maddie started, elbowing him. 

“She’s gonna play bassoon for LA philharmonic” the man continued, “first chair!” he winked at Hen. 

“What?!” Buck and Eddie gasped, perfectly in sync. Like always. 

Maddie was the first to burst out laughing before the whole table followed her. 

“I’m not going anywhere soon, Buckaroo,” Hen assured, “I’m just gonna take my MCATs and see if I can study medicine.”.

“You’re going to crush it, baby.” Karen smirked, holding her wife’s hand to show her support.

“Wow, Hen that’s… awesome” Buck managed to praise before lifting his glasses again, “To Doctor Wilson!”.

8pm: (Hiding – Florence + The Machine)

“And that’s why everyone calls me Chimney.” 

The waitress seemed both amazed and traumatized by the story the man had just told her. 

Buck noticed Maddie wasn’t coming back from the restrooms after a couple of minutes and his leg started to shake again. He turned to Eddie and told him he’ll go check on her. 

Once he reached the women restrooms, Buck realised he wasn’t allowed to enter. Buck 1.0 would have gone in without thinking, but he wasn’t like that anymore. Instead, the young man decided to send a quick text to his sister.

B: “U ok?”  
M: “Yeah, went outside for some fresh air. I’ll be right back”  
M: “Don’t wait for me to order desserts” 

Not convinced, Buck exited the restaurant and scanned the parking lot to find her. He spotted her in no time, she was sitting on the pavement. Maddie did not notice him coming at all, she seemed absorb by the car lights flashing on the road. Her fingers were playing absently with an electronic cigarette. 

“Fresh air, uh?” Buck laughed and sat next to her.

“The week’s been long, uh.” she replied with a sad smile.

“Last time I saw you smoke, you were like 16.” Buck tried to remember. “No offense but you used to find better hiding place.” 

Maddie chuckled at the memory, “I’m done hiding.” she explained simply. 

She remembered climbing on the roof at night when she was 16. The roof was a good hiding place, but it was also the only place in the house where she wouldn’t hear their parent’s fights. Buck was still quite young at the time, but he wasn’t blind, nor deaf. One night, he climbed up to read a book on the roof and found Maddie there. He had said nothing, in the dark they had just exchanged an understanding smile lit up by a cigarette and a lamp torch.

“I told Frank this morning…” Maddie said after a moment, "about mom and dad…"

Buck face dropped as he imagined doing the same thing. “I… I wanted to tell Eddie earlier,” Buck choked “I just can’t, Maddie…” a tear rolled done his face “It’s like the words won’t come out.”. 

Maddie smiled at her brother softly and wiped his tears with her thumb. “It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it if you’re not ready.” 

Buck nodded and swallowed his sobs. They sat there in silence for a couple of minutes like they used to do on the roof. 

Maddie pushed the electronic cigarette back in her purse. “Don’t tell Chim, please.” 

“Maddie, you do realise this is hiding,” he mocked “and that Chimney is chewing nicotine gums all day long.” 

“Yeah, that’s why I don’t want him to know.” Maddie whispered, placing a finger in front of her brother’s mouth to shush him.

“You promise?” she questioned, her eyebrow arched. 

“I won’t say anything, Mads.”

“Pinky swear.” she offered with her pinky out, knowing how her brother hated it but couldn’t resist at the same time. 

Buck grabbed his sister’s finger while sticking his tongue to prove her how childish it looked. 

“Come on, let’s go back inside before someone call 9-1-1 to report our missing.” he joked.

They both laughed and headed back inside, arm in arm, stronger together. 

9pm: (Road – Nick Drake)

When the team exited the restaurant, the night had fallen. Karen was the first to leave explaining she had to go release Jessie, the babysitter. The kids were terrible at bedtime and that poor girl had already done enough for the day. All the others had a late shift about to start, except for Bobby who was discharged for a few days after what happened to Athena. 

After Karen mentioned her kids and bedtime, Eddie excused himself and separated himself from the group to give his son a quick call and wish him goodnight. 

Maddie was snuggling in Chimney’s arms. The scene made Buck smile, still he couldn’t help feeling lonely around the couple. He missed the weight of someone’s body against his. For a second, Abby came to his mind, then Red, but he decided to push the torturing thoughts away. Red’s funerals, earlier that week, had been quite triggering. Last time he had been to funerals was when Abby’s mom had passed away. Buck had been thinking about her a lot, how he was strong for her at that time and how he couldn’t stop himself from feeling weak and lonely now. 

“I’m going to drive Maddie to the dispatch center, Hen you want a free ride to the station?” Chimney offered pointing at his car. The woman nodded and walked toward them with a broad smile on her face, glad that her best friend had already forgave her. 

Maddie noticed that her brother was staring blankly at the concrete. “Buck?” she tried softly to get his attention, “you want to come with us?” 

“Uh, thanks,” the young man straightened up and forced a grateful smile in her direction, his gaze still fixed on the concrete, “my stuffs are already in Eddie’s truck, I think I’ll bother him instead.”. 

“Okay.” Maddie said placing a kiss on his cheek. She told Bobby goodbye and waved at Eddie, even though he was probably not able to see her from where he was, before joining Chimney and Hen inside the car. 

Bobby and Buck stood in silence for a minute, the quietness felt soothing at first but soon became oppressing. Buck cleared his throat uneasily. 

“Hey Bobby,” he had no idea how to explain what he was feeling, but Bobby’s tender expression gave him the courage to continue, “can you tell Athena I’m sorry I didn’t came visit today,” 

Bobby’s smile dropped. 

“I know it’s stupid, but I just couldn’t see her like that…” the young man explained.

“No, no, it’s not stupid at all kid,” Bobby assured, “don’t be sorry, it’s hard for everyone.” He met Buck’s eyes to make sure he understood. 

Eddie came back after ending his call and rapidly noticed something was wrong when he saw Buck’s face. 

“Everything’s okay?” he asks before placing a reassuring hand on Buck’s back instinctly. 

“Uh yeah, don’t worry.”

Buck felt bad for bothering everyone with his own problems. Maddie, Eddie, Bobby… they all had so much going on and still he was the one crying on their shoulders.

“We should go now or we’re gonna be late for our shift” the young man suggested to change subject.

“Yeah, you should go then, I heard your captain can be quite a pain in the neck” Bobby laughed.

Buck chuckled, the tension in his face fainting at Bobby’s joke and Eddie’s presence. He wondered what he had done to deserve such warm-hearted people in his life. 

“You mind if I drive?” Buck asked his best friend. 

“Uh, no” Eddie replied absent-mindedly while tossing him the keys. 

Buck caught them effortlessly and gave Bobby a quick nod as goodbye before jumping in the truck. 

Eddie followed and opened the passenger’s door when Bobby stopped him.

“Hey Eddie,” the man said, his voice suddenly serious, “ it’s probably because of what happened with Athena… but I have a weird feeling,” Eddie looked over to his captain, a concerned expression on his face, “you be careful, alright? Look out for each other.” Bobby continued. 

“We will, Cap.” Eddie promised with a nod. 

10pm: 

« 9-1-1, what’s your emergency? » Maddie said as she answered the call.

« There’s been a train derailment, Pacific West 1135, we were heading from Phoenix into Union Station. We’ve crashed somewhere close to the LA County line.” A feminine voice explained.

“Okay, so how many…”

“There are multiple injuries. This is a mass casualty situation. You’ve got to send out every available RA unit. We need USAR for search and rescue, LAPD for traffic control. We’re gonna need a mobile command center.” 

“It seems like you’ve done this before.”

“Yeah, but I was on your end of the line. I used to be a 9-1-1 dispatcher.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought in the comments! 
> 
> Maybe I'll write a sequel following the next episode if anyone is interested and it goes with the story.


End file.
